Ken Small specializes in urban and transportation issues and environmental economics. Among his recent research topics are urban highway congestion, measurement of value of time and reliability, effects of fuel efficiency standards, public transit pricing, and fuel taxes.

For four years, he served as associate editor of Transportation Research Part B–Methodological, and he remains on the editorial boards of that and four other professional journals. He previously was North American co-editor of the international journal, Urban Studies. Small has served on several study committees of the National Research Council, examining, among other things, cost–benefit analysis and the federal program on congestion management and air quality. His book, Urban Transportation Economics, was recently updated in a new edition (Economics of Urban Transportation) and has become a widely cited standard reference in the field.

Small, a research professor and professor emeritus of economics at the University of California at Irvine, was honored in 1999 with the Distinguished Member Award by the Transport & Public Utilities Group of the American Economic Association, and in 2004 with the Distinguished Transportation Research Award by the Transportation Research Forum. He is the recipient of the Faculty Achievement award at UC-Irvine in 2007, and is a fellow of Regional Science Association International.

Small has advised many public and private groups including the Canadian Royal Commission on National Passenger Transportation, the European Union, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the World Bank, and the California Air Resources Board. At Irvine, he previously served as chair of economics and associate dean of social sciences.